


Whatever It Takes

by emers43



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-04-29 14:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5131556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emers43/pseuds/emers43
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve always heard it said that online relationships can't be real, but that doesn't change how he feels. Nothing is going to change the love Steve has for Bucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

White is a terrible color, actually, white isn’t even technically a color; it’s the absence of color. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop it from being the color of the room other than the few shades of gray here and there. This is probably one of many reasons that people hate hospitals. If they even just had a smidge of actual color, this wouldn’t be so bad. This isn’t the first time this thought has crossed Steve Rogers’s mind as he sits waiting for the doctor to come back. His eyes shift to his shoes, he notices the wear and tear and sighs. He doesn’t want to have to get new ones, finding ones that worked with his custom insole was a bit of a challenge, plus he hates bothering his Ma about it.

His family wasn’t poor, but they couldn’t afford to have the latest and greatest, not with his hospital bills, which is why both his jeans and t-shirt are much too big for his tiny body. He almost senses the door opening before he hears it give a soft squeal, revealing Dr. Banner, who greets him with a lopsided nervous-looking smile, which Steve used to think that meant bad news. It didn’t take long to figure out that’s just how the doctor was. “Well Steven, everything looks good. Your heart is pumping strong, your lungs are clearer than I’ve ever seen them. Do you have any questions or concerns?”

“I’m good, Doc,” Steve smiles, getting off the medical table. Steve has been dealing with this for years, and things seemed to get better as he got older, except for his flat feet and his curved spine, those kept causing more issues it seemed.

“Then I’ll see you in six months,” Dr. Banner smiles as he guides Steve to the front door, as if the blond needed guidance. He knows this place as if it was a second home, which is a sad form of proof of just how much time he spent here. Steve says goodbye one last time before walking to his rusted blue 2009 Ford Taurus. The engine sputtered to life, making Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. The Taurus was on it’s last leg; he’d driven it for nearly two years, and it had been in rough shape when he’d gotten it from the previous owner.

Regardless, it gets him to the apartment safely. “Ma?” he calls out when he walks in. He’s met with silence, and that’s when he checks his phone to see the message telling him that she’s going to be late and to have supper without her. He sighs to himself, as he takes off his shoes and lies down on the couch in the living room. He contemplates messaging Sam to see if his best friend wants to go out for dinner, and he can almost hear Sam telling him, “It’s the summer before our senior year, you should be going out and enjoying it before school starts and we have to plan what we do after graduation.”

Despite that, the idea of a night in sounds too good to pass up. Steve decides to compromise and invites Sam over for some pizza and movies. Sam quickly replies to the offer, saying he’s game and will be there in thirty minutes with the pizza. Thirty minutes is enough time for Steve to do some cleaning and check on his Tumblr for any new comments on his latest piece. To his delight, there are currently 300 likes on the colored pencil drawing of a golden retriever that he posted before his appointment. There are two messages in his inbox, one from a follower that he was discussing various drawing tips with. Once he sends his reply, he looks at the other message from an anonymous user, “Hello, I just want to say your art is AMAZING! I saw the piece you did for the Doctor Who fan that requested the ninth doctor, and was wondering if you have the time, would you be willing to do something related to Star Trek? The newer movies? Please? I’d love just about anything. Thank you so much! Keep up the great work, you’re so talented.”

A smile spreads across Steve’s face at the message, whoever sent this to him was very kind, and seemed nervous to ask for a piece of work. He takes a moment to compose himself before typing out a reply, “Thank you for your kind words about my art, it really keeps me going! I honestly haven’t seen the new Star Trek films, but once I see them I will gladly give it a try. I enjoy getting requests since they keep me practicing and trying new things. I know you said you’d be happy with anything, but do you have a preference for what medium I use?”

He posts his reply and scrolls through his dashboard, reblogging a few things before he shuts his laptop down and puts it away so it’s out of the way when Sam arrives. No sooner is the laptop placed in his room does Steve hear a knock on the door. “Hey Sam,” he grins as he answers.

“Hey man,” Sam gives Steve his usual smile as he walks in. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty great; health is in check and I’m getting good feedback on my art.”

“That’s great, did you draw me like one of your french girls yet?” Sam smirks as he sets the pizza box down on the coffee table 

Steve laughs as he shakes his head, “I mean if you really want to model that out for me, sure.”

“Nah, just make me look as muscular as a Greek God,” Sam flexes his arms as he says this, showing off the slight build he has.

“Sure thing. How are you?”

“Ready for some pizza. What are we watching?”

“Um, I got a request for a Star Trek piece of art, so if you have a way of watching those that’d be beneficial.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have a way to see those, outside of finding the nearest Redbox, but I don’t know if that’d have the first movie,” Sam says as he grabs some orange juice out of the fridge and a water for Steve. “Any other ideas? Personally, I’m in the mood for a good comedy.”

“Let’s see what’s on Netflix.” Steve settles back on the couch and signs into Sam’s account. The two browse through the list for almost fifteen minutes before they settle on watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off while they eat the pizza.

“We should totally do this one day this year. Skip out on school and have some fun with the guys,” Sam muses.

“I’d rather not skip school.”

“It’s senior year, it’s kind of a blow-off year anyway. I’m kidding though, just so we’re clear.”

“I know. I wouldn’t nark on you even if you did skip, you know that,” Steve says and Sam nods as their attention returns to the film. The duo has been friends since seventh grade when Sam moved from Washington to Brooklyn and Steve was asked to show him around. To most, they seemed like an unlikely pair since Sam is tall, built, one of the star players the basketball team, and enjoyed going out and partying on occasion whereas Steve could be described as a stick, has plenty of health issues, is an artist, and prefers a quiet night at home. Still, they have plenty of the same views on things and discovered they made a great team at various war games.

When the movie ends, the two of them play a few rounds of Call of Duty before Sam has to head home. Giving his best friend a big hug, he asks, “We still on for hanging out with Scott this weekend?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” Steve smiles, letting go of Sam. “Let me know when you get home.”

“Will do,” Sam promises before heading out the door. Steve cleans up their dishes, deciding to wash the dishes that were starting to pile up by the sink. Once he’s done, he goes into his room and opens up his laptop again. Naturally the first thing he does is go back on Tumblr and he can’t help but smile at small 1 notification on the messages icon. He clicks it to see another anonymous message.

“HOW HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN STAR TREK????!!!! YOU POOR DEPRIVED ARTIST. It would be neat to see you paint. Thanks again. NOW PLEASE GO WATCH STAR TREK SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MISSING!”

Steve laughs at the message until he can barely breath. Whoever sent him the message was clearly very passionate about Star Trek, and Steve finds that absolutely adorable. “I’M SORRY!! I’ve never had a chance to see the movies. I will try to watch soon once I figure out how I can see the movies. I’m sure they’re great :)” Once the reply is posted and Steve checks out a few comments on his other works, he searches to try to find the films online. To his delight both are available through Redbox, meaning he can get both for the low price of two dollars whenever he gets around to it. With that settled, he changes into pajamas and crawls into bed for the night.

“It’s summer,” Steve thinks to himself when the sunlight shining on his face causes him to wake up. “I should not be awake at 8am in THE SUMMER!” Unwilling to get up and close the curtains, he rolls over and covers his head with his pillow. Now the only problem was the heat, especially now that his head is covered. “Fine, I’ll get up,” he grumbles to himself while tossing the bedsheets aside.

He moves quietly throughout the apartment, knowing his mom is still asleep after working such a late shift. Even if she hadn’t worked late, Sarah Rogers usually needed an hour long nap after work: being the head nurse was no easy task. With his mom in mind, Steve creeps to the kitchen and looks through the groceries, intending to make her breakfast in bed. Deciding to keep it simple, he prepares everything he needs to French Toast and sets to work on that. Much to his surprise, he doesn’t burn anything.

Once the toast is on a plate and the milk has been poured, Steve places it on the bed tray that was used whenever he was bedridden. Carefully, he picks up the tray and waits a moment before heading toward the bedroom. Shifting so that he can knock on the door takes work, but thankfully he doesn’t drop anything. “Come in,” he hears softly on the other side of the door.

After nearly a two minute struggle, Steve manages to open the door to see his mom yawning as she sits up. “Mornin’ Ma,” he smiles. “Did I wake you too early?”

“Morning sweetie,” Sarah smiles. “I was waking up anyway. Did you make me breakfast?”

“Yes ma’am,” Steve states proudly, placing the tray before his mom.

She gently kisses his cheek, “How was a blessed with such an amazing boy? I’m sorry I can’t spend more time with you lately.’

“It’s alright,” Steve soothes. “I just wish I could do more to help around.”

Ever since Steve’s father passed away, with Steve’s medical bills and college prep times have been tough. Sarah worked more hours for extra pay and the two cut back on expenses around the apartment. Joseph and Sarah Rogers had never been big spenders and the small Brooklyn apartment was just what they needed to spend their lives together. The two could not have been happier when Steve came along, even with all of his health conditions. Life was great, until the day Joseph was mugged and killed in an alley two years ago.

It felt like just yesterday Steve was being called down to the office to see his mother sobbing uncontrollably. It had taken her ten minutes to calm down enough to tell him what happened. He held her close, doing his best to keep a strong face for her. He didn’t cry until he was alone in his room later that night. He vowed to honor his father by being the best man he could be: his health was not going an be an excuse.

“You do plenty,” Sarah’s voice brings Steve back to the present. “I know you want a job, but I want you to enjoy your senior year. We’re getting by just fine.” She takes a bite of the French Toast. “This is delicious. Did you eat?”

“Not yet, I left my stack in kitchen.”

“Bring it in here and we can sit and chat.”

“Alright,” Steve nods, moving to do as he’s told. He finds the other tray, pours himself some orange juice and heads back to the bedroom.

“How’d everything go yesterday?”

“I’m in good health nothing has changed since the last visit. I just came home afterward and invited Sam over for pizza. Nothing special happened.”

Sarah gave a thoughtful nod as she ate. “Are you two still going to Scott’s this weekend?”

“Yeah, unless you need me at home.”

“You know I want you to spend time with your friends before school starts and then you have college planning. Enjoy your time, you’re still young.”

“I know, Ma,” Steve says as he eats. “How was work?”

“Busy as usual. One of the nurses that was shifted didn’t come in on time so I took her shift, but other than that just doing anything and everything I needed to do. I have to go in again tonight so I hope you won’t get too lonely. Maybe Sam can come over again?”

“He’s got a party with the basketball team since it’s one of the team member’s birthday. But i got another art request so I’ll probably work on that.”

“What is it this time?”

“Something from the new Star Trek films so I was going to get some groceries and get the movies from Redbox. Need anything particular?”

“I’ll make a list, but first I’m finishing this,” Sarah pointed to her breakfast with her fork. They sit together in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company. They watch a bit of the news before heading to the store where Steve picks up the two movies along with all the other needed items. By the time they arrive back home, Sarah has to get ready for work so Steve logs onto Tumblr, finding another anon message.

“I hope you get them soon, I am going to need to hear your reactions, ok?”

“I actually picked up both movies today,” Steve types before attaching a photo of himself with the DVDs. “It’ll be a bit before I watch, but know it’s going to happen! I’d gladly liveblog while I watch, but I prefer to pay attention to movies so unless you can join me for a movie night, you’ll have to settle with hearing an overall reaction later on.”

Steve posts the reply just as his mother pulls on her shoes. “How long are you working tonight?” he asks, setting his laptop down and grabbing her bagged meal..

“Until about ten o’clock,” Sarah sighs before smiling at her son as she takes the bag. “Thank you.”

“Stay safe, Ma,” Steve kisses her cheek.

“You too,” she hugs him quickly before heading out the door. Steve stands there for a moment, secretly wishing she’d come back and spend more time with him He hates how hard she works to make ends meet while he sits home. He tries not to think about it as he puts a load of laundry in the wash before heading back to his laptop to see another message waiting for him. To his surprise and pleasure, it isn’t anonymous anymore: it’s from a user called spacebuckaner

“I AM SO EXCITED YOU’RE WATCHING THE MOVIES! BUT DID YOU REALLY OFFER A MOVIE NIGHT??? YOU ARE CUTE BUT STUPID TO OFFER A STRANGER TO COME WATCH MOVIES WITH YOU! I decided we shouldn’t be strangers anymore, my name is James, but my friends call me Bucky. I’m a big fan of your work, so I’m excited to see what you’ll post in the future and I hope we can get to know each other more. ENJOY THE MOVIES!”

Steve isn’t sure how to respond at first. He’s flattered Bucky called him cute, but he’s also ready to argue that he was not inviting Bucky for a movie night and therefore isn’t stupid. He’s glad the adorable anon finally had a name, and possibly a face if the male in spacebuckaner’s profile photo was him. Steve can’t resist clicking the link onto Bucky’s blog, and even before he reads the short description he can tell Bucky is totally into space. “Bucky, 19, and total space nerd, what more do you want to know?”

Steve doesn’t see a link for more information, but Bucky’s layout is set to look like the mobile version of a blog. He scrolls for a bit, seeing various space posts, a few art posts, and various posts and pictures from shows Bucky must watch. Steve doesn’t scroll as much as he’s tempted to since he has a message to answer and two movies to start, but he does think Bucky’s someone he could get to know. He goes back to his inbox and types, “Excuse you, it was more of a factual statement than an invitation. Anyway, nice to finally know who you are! I’m Steve, but I’m sure you knew that since I have a bit more information about myself on my blog :P I’m so glad you like my work so much so hopefully the piece I’m doing for you lives up to your imagination. I look forward to talking to you more, but I’m going to sign out to give the movies my full attention.” Steve sends the message privately before shutting his laptop down and putting it aside as he puts the first movie in. He settles into a comfortable position and presses play.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the headache subsided from the first film, Steve pulls out his laptop, deciding he’d at least discuss his reaction to the first film. Much to his amusement, there’s a message waiting for him in his inbox. **“I’m pretty sure it was an invite. Anyway, whatever you do is going to be amazing, I can feel it :) I look forward to your reactions since it’s smart to give the movies your focus. Talk later!”**

Steve quickly goes to send Bucky a fanmail, **“I decided I didn’t want to keep you waiting too long for my reactions. I finished the first film about 10 minutes ago and had to wait until my headache from the Red Matter explosion to stop. That was a cool scene, but it was a bit much... Anyway, I enjoyed the movie. Is it weird I related to Kirk in the beginning where he was running off with the car? I stopped relating to him once he was seemingly sleeping around. I was entertained by his relationship with Bones (at least I think that’s the doctor’s name...I have to be honest I’m not sure I’m remembering right,”** Steve refuses to admit that he probably didn’t hear half the movie right due to his poor hearing.

**“I also really enjoyed Spock’s character and his struggles he faced. I feel so sorry for him and his people. The time travel bit was a little strange to wrap my head around at first, but it was definitely a nice touch! I also have a really weird feeling that somehow the villain isn’t really dead. Like, he was too calm when his ship was exploding and that can’t be nothing, right? Overall, I really enjoyed it so I’m looking forward to the next one once I take care of some chores.”**

With the fanmail sent, Steve sets his laptop aside and goes to put the load of laundry into the dryer. He decides he might as well sweep the kitchen since he doesn’t want too much dirt in the apartment. After that’s all done, he puts _Star Trek Into Darkness_ into the DVD player and settles in. He checks his laptop but there are no new messages so he closes it and starts watching the movie. Within the first five minutes he can already tell this one is going to be a lot more action packed. He also comes to realize he has a new crush on Chris Pine as the film progresses. When it ends he can’t help but want to see the next adventure the crew will have. He pops open his laptop and sees there still isn’t a message from Bucky.

Steve debates for a moment on sending another message, only to decide not to. Just because Bucky was a very nice fan, he doesn’t want to spam the poor guy with messages. With that in mind, Steve browses the web looking for reference photos of the crew members as well as the Enterprise. He sketches out a few quick designs: some with just the crew, some with just the Enterprise, and some with both. He settles on having the ship in warp-speed above headshots of the crew. Even with the design settled, he doesn’t feel confident yet and does more sketches until his stomach growls with the demand for food. Glancing at the time on his phone, Steve sees it’s almost six o’clock pm already. He sets his sketchbook aside and goes to make himself some hot dogs and mac and cheese since he doesn’t have much energy for anything else.

Once the food is done, he flips through the TV channels only to find nothing of interest so he leaves on some old Western as he eats. He checks his phone and sighs seeing no new messages of any kind. A wave of loneliness hits him as he sits there. Steve knows he has good friends, like Sam and Scott among others, but he can’t help but feel like the outsider: the strange sick kid in school that people view as worthless or any easy target. In the back of his mind, Steve can hear the various taunts from bullies over the years. It doesn’t bother him the way it used to, but it still hurts. Still makes him believe he’s a nobody.

Staring at his phone, Steve thinks about messaging Sam to see how his night is, but he doesn’t want to be a bother. The feeling of loneliness grows and Steve pours himself into cleaning the apartment until his back starts to hurt, forcing him to lie down. He stares up at the peeling paint on the ceiling, and wishes he could fix it: he wishes he could fix everything. If his father were here it wouldn’t be so bad, he thinks. Sarah wouldn’t have to work so hard to support living in such a crappy place and Steve wouldn’t have to be alone so much. Even if Steve was just healthy, then he could work and help more.

Steve’s had these thoughts countless times, and he knows he’s entering a dangerous loop so he grabs the first book he sees and starts reading until he becomes absorbed into another world. He isn’t even phased from it when Sarah comes home and reheats some food before showering. He only grows aware that time has passed when she knocks on his bedroom door. She kisses his forehead and sits on the bed, “How was your night?”

“Alright,” Steve says, putting his bookmark into place. “Uneventful. How was yours, Ma?”

“Busy, we were short staffed again,” Sarah explains and shares a few stories that she’s allowed to share. “I have an early shift tomorrow to cover for someone, but when I’m done how about we go out for a movie or something?”

“That’d be nice,” Steve smiles and hugs his mother tight. “I love you, Ma, get lots of rest.”

“I love you too,” she kisses the top of his head as she holds him close before going to her room. Steve decides he’ll finish his chapter and get some sleep. Of course as soon as he settles into bed, his mind begins wandering again as much as he tries to empty it. He tries to think about his art, but it brings out the guilt of how his supplies are expensive and how the few pieces he has actually sold don’t make much money. This also brings on the feeling of not being a good enough artist to make more money. He should be realistic and follow a path that would allow him to live his life...if he makes it that far.

He knows he shouldn’t think like that, but it’s late. He can’t help it sometimes. In a final attempt to stop himself from having these thoughts, Steve looks at his phone to see a drunk text from Sam, **“** **_DUUDE I WISH I CULD FLIE!”_ **

Steve has no clue what this means, but laughs regardless as he texts back, **“Dream on my friend.”**

He then notices he has a few Tumblr notification, and to his delight one is a message from Bucky. **“Sorry I didn’t answer sooner. There was some family troubles going on. I’m glad you’re enjoying the films!! You aren’t the only one to think the villain being calm meant something. What did you think of the second film?”**

Quickly Steve types his reply, **“I thought the second film was better, Kirk seemed like a better leader in this one. Kon’s story was very interesting and it’d be nice to know more about him. Spock and Uhura (did I spell that right?) were an interesting couple...don’t know how I feel about it. I’m sorry to hear there’s family trouble. I hope things are alright! If it makes you feel better I started working on your request”**

Steve can’t help but wonder what was happening in Bucky’s life, even though he barely knows him. Of course, Steve doesn’t like knowing anyone is going through something rough. He hopes that the work he’s doing will help Bucky deal with whatever is going on. With that in mind, Steve vows to work on it as soon as he can in the morning. He sets his phone down and nestles further under the sheets, trying to get more comfortable which takes a while and even once he’s settled he can’t help but think about finishing the art to make Bucky feel better. He knows it’d be difficult to finish it in a day, but he at least wants to finish it before he goes to Scott’s for the weekend.

When Steve wakes in the morning, he takes his medicine with some breakfast before immediately getting to work. He becomes lost in the galaxy he creates and loses himself in the details of the ship. He only comes out of his world when the clock on the wall strikes noon. He checks his phone and sees a message from Sam, wondering what happened last night. **“How would I know? I just got the one message.”**

There are also messages from Bucky. **“I like both the films equally. You should watch some of the original movies to learn even more if you’re interested. They might be harder to find though...and I’m so happy to hear that you’ve started, but please don’t rush!!!  It does make me feel better about last night so thank you again for doing this.”**

The second one said, **“I’ve debated on asking this since I don’t want to pressure you and I also kind of wanted to be surprised but....Can I see it?”**

Steve can’t help but chuckle at both the messages as he snaps a photo and sends it in the reply. **“I’m still working on the ship as you can see, but I think it’s going well. Let me know what you think! Maybe I will watch the original movies if I can find them. Do you own them?”**  

The message sends and Steve takes a break from the painting so he doesn’t ruin anything. Not to mention, his mom should be home soon. He cleans his supplies and settles into reading again until Sarah arrives home. “How did today go?” He asks, closing the book.

“Better, I was mainly dealing with some paperwork. You have some paint on your face darling,” Sarah laughs as she removes her shoes. Steve leaps up and looks in the mirror to see a large blue streak on his cheek. How it got there, he has no idea, but at least it was easy enough to get off. “How’s that painting that isn’t on your body going?” Sarah asks from the other room.

“Good, I sent an in progress shot to the person who asked for it so I hope they like it,” Steve explains as he sits down with her.

“I’m sure they’ll love it. Would you like to go to a movie tonight? I hear _Zootopia_ is a good one,” his mother smiles.

“We can see whatever you’d like to see,” Steve smiles.

“Would you look up the showtimes? I’m going to freshen up,” Sarah muses before going into her room. Steve pulls out his laptop and quickly finds showtimes before popping over to Tumblr where a message awaits him.

**“I HAVE NO WORDS! IT’S ABSOLUTELY PERFECT AND I LOVE IT ALREADY SO I CAN’T WAIT UNTIL IT’S DONE!!!!  HOW ARE YOU SO TALENTED?  Also, of course I own the films! Why wouldn’t I? I treasure them. If you could get to Washington D.C after everything with my family calms down I’d say we could marathon them.”**

**“You’re too kind, I wouldn’t call it perfect. I’m so glad you like it so much. Also, were you not the guy yelling at me two nights ago about inviting a stranger to watch movies? Jerk.”** Steve bites his lip before adding **, “I hope this isn’t over the line, and you don’t have to answer, but how are you handling with your family? Are you okay?** **I’m here if you want to talk about it.”**

Steve can’t believe how happy his art had made Bucky. He can’t believe someone other than his mother thinks something he’s done is perfect. Sure, people told him that their request turned out perfect, but they were never so hyped up about the work. It’s also wonderful to know that he’s made Bucky so happy when there was something going on. He clicks on Bucky’s blog, curious to see if he’s made any personal posts, but there only seem to be posts about space. Hesitantly, Steve searches for a personal tag on the page, but there isn’t one to be found. He wishes, Bucky wasn’t such a mystery, but it also excites him.

He clicks to enlarge the profile photo and takes in the details behind the astronaut helmet. There isn’t much since it’s a smaller black and white image and the man in the photo is looking off into the distance away from the camera. Hell, Steve isn’t even sure the man in the photo is Bucky. Whoever it is, looks remarkable with a shark jaw line and- “Are you alright?” a voice asks, snapping Steve out of his thoughts.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine, why?” Steve fumbles for words, closing the tab.

“You’re face is red,” Sarah Rogers smirks slightly at her son. “What’s going on?”

“Just got a really nice comment on my piece,” Steve says. It wasn’t a lie,just not the entire truth.. He wasn’t about to tell his mom that the person who asked for the piece was super sweet, and potentially a very attractive male. Steve had come out as bisexual last year when he couldn’t hide it anymore. he’d had a rough day at school even with Sam around telling the idiots teasing Steve to lay off; it had been the first time in a long time that Steve had been taunted. Outside of Sam and some of the guys, no one at school knew his sexuality, but being called a freak just got to him and he told Sarah everything.

All she did was hold her son, rubbing his back softly as she said, “You aren’t a freak, you’re always my son no matter what.”

Steve never felt so relieved than in that moment.

“Oh I see,” Sarah smiles at him. “What time is the movie at? Or do you want to stay home and speak with your adoring fan?”

“There’s a show in an hour or two and half hours.”

“Let’s go to the one in an hour, we can get dinner afterward,” Sarah muses as she settles onto the couch beside her son. The two sit and chat for a while about various thing before they head to the film. They settle in and enjoy the entire experience, both feeling like kids again as they watch. When it’s over they head over to their favorite Italian place for dinner and for more discussion.

“I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up sometimes,” his mother smiles at him as they discuss the upcoming school year. “I’m so proud of who you’ve become. Your father would be too.”

“I learned from the best. Thank you for everything Ma. I love you.”

“I love you too,” she smiles, tears in her eyes. “Thank you for tonight.”

“Anything for you. Let’s go home,” he suggests once the bill is paid. When they arrive back at the apartment, they hug before each heading to their room for a good night’s rest. Steve smiles to himself, grateful to have a woman like his mother in his life. The night they shared was just what he needed after he struggled with his thoughts last night. He smiles to himself, realizing once again how lucky he is since not everyone has someone as amazing as her for a family member.

It’s only then he thinks about Bucky, and he quickly looks at his phone. There’s a few random notifications from Facebook, a Snapchat from Scott, and about five Tumblr notifications. Steve ignores everything else and quickly checks Tumblr to see a message. **“Sshhh, it’s perfect. You’re amazing at what you do. I’m not a jerk you punk! I was just trying to be nice to such a wonderful artist. You aren’t crossing a line, I’m alright. There’s just a lot of tension with some of my father’s work so he’s been harder on my brother and I. Thanks for offering to listen, but I’d rather not talk about it right now. How are you?”**

**“Thank you for being so kind. And I’m sorry for calling you a jerk...actually I’m not....I’m doing well, Enjoying what remains of the summer as best I can. My life isn’t too exciting. I’m honestly just lying in bed, can’t really sleep.”** Steve sends before checking on his other notices.

Scott snapchatted him a video of his computer glitching and a caption reading, **“It’s been like this for an hour...”**

**“You messed up. Badly”** Steve replies, making an amused face in the photo. Facebook was much less interesting, just other people commenting on other posts that Steve commented on. He was about to head to bed when he sees a notification from Tumblr stating he had an instant message from spacebuckaner.

“ **Why can’t you sleep?”**

**“Just can’t get comfortable. Why are you still up?”**

**“I have trouble sleeping most nights.”** Bucky’s reply is almost instant.

**“That sucks. I hope you can sleep soon.”**

**“You too. You know, if you’re awake you could be working on my painting ;)”** Bucky sends only to immediately send a second message, **“Just kidding, please don’t sit up late working on it. No rush!”**

**“I mean the thought did cross my mind to work on it, especially since I’m leaving for the weekend in two days.”**

**“Thought you said your life wasn’t exciting? Where are you headed?”**

**“Just to a friend’s family summer vacation home. One of our few summer blowouts before our senior year of high school starts. Are you on summer vacation too?”**

Bucky’s reply takes longer, making Steve think the other had fallen asleep. **“Technically, yes. I should have been heading to college in September, but due to some situations I’m taking the year off just to work.”**

Steve can’t help but frown a little. He isn’t about to pry and ask what happened, but he is curious. It seemed Bucky didn’t have much luck, and Steve could relate to that most days. **“I’m sorry you had to take off of school. Hopefully working isn’t too bad.”**

**“It should be fine. It gives me more time to settle on a path in life anyway.”**

**“Having time is good. I’m trying to sort it all out too...even though I’m procrastinating on it a little bit. I mean I only just turned 18 a month ago!”**

**“Happy belated birthday!! Yeah, planning is tough. I wish you luck. Try not to think about it too much right now though. Get some sleep. I’m sure we’ll talk again tomorrow :)”**

**“Alright, goodnight!”**

**“Goodnight!”**

With a smile on his face, Steve sets his phone down and hugs one of his extra pillows and promptly falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, but life has kept me busy and in chaos but since I saw Civil War last night I was super inspired. I'm sorry if this chapter feels rushed, I'm just really excited to get further into the boys' relationship. Feedback would be much appreciated.
> 
> -emers

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to [holahydra](www.holahydra.tumblr.com) on tumblr for her support of this story and for being all around amazing.
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed reading this, I hope to write more soon!


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